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Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 5)
Thе ruthless аnd brilliant brother Vishous possesses a destructive curse аnd a frightening ability tο see thе future. Aѕ a member οf thе Brotherhood, hе hаѕ nο interest іn lіkе οr emotion, οnlу thе battle wіth thе Lessening Society. Bυt whеn a mortal injury puts hіm іn thе care οf a human general practitioner, Dr. Jane Whitcomb compels hіm tο reveal hіѕ inner pain аnd taste rіght pleasure fοr thе first time-іn anticipation οf a destiny hе didn’t сhοοѕе takes hіm іntο a future thаt dοеѕ nοt include hеr…
Thе ru
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Both Incredible and Frustrating,
Lover Unbound garnered an instant impression from me on ending it. It was a hard journey, probably the toughest book to read of the series for me. I thought Ward had wrung out of me all the rough emotions I could possibly feel with Zsadist’s book (Lover Awakened), but oh, how incorrect I was. My first impression? Well, it was a mixed bag really: disappointment, utter joy, a bit of a depression in regards to some font, smiles for certain scenes, heartfelt sighs for others…and a certain piqued interest for continuing with the series. A mixed bag to say the least–more like a salad in which some ingredients were found exceptionally tasty and snatched up, others a bit wilted and set aside for pondering.
Vichous, resident IT geek and live wire (reckon the hand). He’s had it tough the last several months. He’s got some conflicting emotions to work through regarding his roommate, Butch, feelings he despises himself for. Meanwhile, the war with the Lessers isn’t going away, but rotary a corner instead into newer, possibly deadlier territory. Like all of the brothers, his life hasn’t come lacking a price, and memories of his father’s warrior camp impede his ability to heal on the inside. His way of dealing is to indulge some darker sexual preferences, but is it helping? When a Lesser roundup goes terrible, V finds himself hospitalized, but in a human one everywhere the brotherhood is in danger of exposure. Here he meets Dr. Jane Whitcomb, a self-assured general practitioner…his liberator. If not for her, he’d most likely have died, so why not kidnap the brilliant doc to make sure the healing continues? Here’s something about her that sparks the “mine” instinct and V’s not having it any other way. Only problem is here’s this tiny small job he’s got to handle for the SV and it may mean an end to what V wants and a beginning to what’s best for the vampire race as a whole. Can V step down from what he wants? Is it really in a warrior’s nature? Jane may have been more than he bargained for too, more than he can sacrifice this time. And for a brother that’s made incredible sacrifices in the past, it just might be time to take a stand.
First off, I agree with some of the professional reviews–this is not the book to enter the series on. If anyone starts off with it, they’re doing themselves and the books a disservice. This series is worth reading in order from book one. Vishous has had reasonably the fascinating development in the last four books (in order: Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, Lover Awakened and Lover Exposed). It’s probably safe to say that many readers urban some expectations–who wouldn’t with these vamps? They’re exceptionally urban, better than life (in our minds) and full of some very engaging emotions. I realized though, that in doing so I was putting myself and the font in a corner. Realizing this didn’t make me appreciate the ending any more, which is uncommon. Hard hitting, heavy and raw. This book WAS raw, gritty and in-your-face. It’s the BDB though, that’s what we’ve been getting. The author has stayed right to the roots of the series in that regard. Did I wish it could have been uncommon for the main font by book’s end? Huge yes. Jane felt too rushed, but the circumstances in which she entered the series were rushed too, so it could be clarified that way. Regardless, I wished for more from/for her, and I suppose that is why the ending disappointed me. To me, the ending left a lot of questions; ones I hope will be answered in later books. She seems to still have an vital role by the ending, so that gives me hope. The romance was a bit understated compared to previous books–here’s a lot of point about John Matthew and his friends included, a fantastic set-up for Phury’s book (next in the series titled Lover Enshrined, June 2008). Secondary font do play a larger role in this one and those parts were stellar. Even Zsadist continues to develop perfectly–Ward’s not done with the individual characterizations! This book explored some deep emotions and a new take on the way romance can be written. Even as the ending left me feeling unsatisfied, I’m still convinced this is one bold, gutsy and talented author, which only lead me to wanting one thing in the end–Phury’s book. We meet his possible mate and what we find out about her and the culture she arrives from is not to be missed. Lover Unbound is going to sure-fire please fans, or place them in reserve and on protect. Oddly enough, it did both for me. Sounds like a success to me.
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|A Well Written Book, but…,
All in all I am disappointed. Not what I was so very much looking forwards to. (I know! I finished that condemn with a preposition. Sorry.) Vishous has always been that one character whose inner workings (thoughts and feelings) were unknowable. I expected his tale to be to the top with dramatic tension. Here was none. The V of the tale did not live up to the V of former books or even that of his own past. When I read that he kidnapped a human doctor, I just knew here would ranting and raving on her part and implacable resolve on his. Here would be his attempts to reconcile his usually emotionless self with the new emotions bonding would throw on him. Nope. Didn’t happen.
Here wasn’t even any romance in the tale. They fell in like and committed to each other in what 24 hours? The largest like affair in this tale was between Vishous and his mother (and I don’t mean anything sexual by that statement), or maybe it was the romance between Phury and his conscience, but it sure as heck wasn’t the one between V and Jane.
Here must have been hundreds of pages of romantic and sexual tension, and here’s nothing but slack. The best parts of the book were the dialogue betweenn Butch and V, and V and Jane, and the parts about John Matthew.
Speaking of Butch. Man, here was so much Ward could have done here. V’s feelings for Butch combined with his feelings for Jane would have been HOT (still not talking sex, public)!!! His feelings for Butch drying up like a up-rooted dandelion just because he bonded to Jane? Disappointing.
Did I mention I found this book disappointing? But, as I said, well written. It just isn’t much of a romance. Its just another addition to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series in which Vishous falls in like. And the ending? Talk about jumping the shark!!!!!
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|What a hot mess,
A distressing misstep in Ward’s if not addictive and enthralling series.
What’s incorrect? Three main problems:
1. The main like tale is rushed and unconvincing. Vishous, the Brother with the most dread of trusting others (after Zsadist), falls in like the fastest of all — and starts to reckon “mine” after hearing only a few words from the heroine. Truly unbelievable. The Vishous in this book barely resembles the one of previous installments.
2. The cosmology goes entirely off the rails, with a rethinking of the major deity in the Brothers’ world. The only problem: This new Scribe Virgin is so inconsistent, so egocentric and so unreliable that it is hard to imagine any group of thinking beings being ardent to her. And it is hard to imagine admiring and wanting to know more about beings who would want to worship HER.
3. The picture we see of the Chosen — the daughters of Brothers and the servants of the Scribe Virgin — is so misogynistic and so claustrophobic that it is impossible to imagine it coexisting with the Brothers’ culture, in which their females are revered, protected and exalted. The two sides cannot have come out of the same principles — which suggests incoherent and ad hoc world-building on Ward’s part.
The flaws in world-building and the character contradictions with Ward’s before books make me very worried for the coming books. Ward needs to step back, rethink the consequences of all her inventions and make sure that the next book is consistent with itself and the world she’s built.
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